REMARKS OF THE 30th YEAR REUNION
It is with great humility that I take the honor to welcome all of you to this 30th student reunion at St Joseph Boarding school. As the pioneer president of our student union, I count it a great honor to give welcoming remarks and facilitate the program during this auspicious occasion. It is indeed a great honor that I will revere forever.
First and foremost, we thank the Almighty God for the gift of life and for this rare opportunity to come together. I want to thank Mr. Stanley, the current principal of St. Joseph, for his support in organizing this event. Also, Mr. Stanley has taken the time to join us today despite his busy schedule. Indeed, Mr. Stanley has done a commendable job maintaining the exceptional academic level of St. Joseph as an academic giant at the national level. The discipline levels in the school have also remained high.
I must also commend all the alumni for honoring the invitation. Even the members working in foreign countries such as South Korea, China, the United Kingdom, Egypt, and Rwanda honored the invitation. To this end, you have demonstrated your intimate connection and loyalty to St. Joseph. Moreover, we are deeply impressed by your responsibility and generosity in terms of the financial support you have given to boost our kitty. The kitty will enable us to run various programs, including supporting needy students financially and constructing a dormitory for our students. Additionally, this kitty will facilitate the student mentorship and counseling program that we have decided to establish. These programs will enable us to remain connected to our beloved alma mater while also impacting the next generation of professionals, business entrepreneurs, and leaders.
To all the teachers who taught and guided us during our time at St. Joseph, we are forever grateful. The discipline, focus, and resilience inculcated in the students have enabled us to prosper in business and careers. We sincerely appreciate Mr. Thomas for the commendable job he did like the boarding master. He always took care of our welfare at school. Most of us remember how Mr. Thomas’s effort helped improve the school’s quality of meals. Additionally, Mr. Thomas would use all means available to ensure that students were disciplined and well behaved at school. He could even whip students who dared to go against the rules, such as staying at the dormitory during class hours.
Also, Mrs. Lucy, our biology and linguistics teacher, made an indelible mark in our lives. She mentored us to be confident, proactive, and fluent in our communication. I vividly remember how Mrs. Lucy employed humor during school debates to equip students with listening, use of gestures and non-verbal elements, and other communication skills. Still, Mrs. Lucy’s friendly personality enabled us to open up to her whenever we faced emotional and mental challenges. Her passion for counseling helped students cope with social-economic problems such as domestic violence, poverty, and other family challenges.
We can also not forget Mr. Ryan, the sports guru who trained us on different games such as football, volleyball, handball, and athletics. Looking back, we are forever grateful for Mr. Ryan’s resilience in encouraging students to participate in sports. I remember when he introduced gifts and tokens for students who performed well in sports. The gifts, which included sports attires, shoes, and financial incentives, attracted students to develop an interest in sports. Mr. Ryan’s effort enabled us to maintain St. Joseph’s image as a sports giant among her peers.
Thirty years ago, we stepped into this school innocent, naïve, and timid. Despite our young age, most of us were proud of one thing – to wear the best academic and sports center’s badge in the country. Indeed, our stay at St. Joseph transformed us from naïve boys into confident, responsible, disciplined, and bold men ready to conquer the world. The fundamental principles of life that we learned at St Joseph have been the building blocks of our success to date. In short, St. Joseph cemented the foundations of our lives.
There are lots of things that we can talk about as far as our attachment with St. Joseph is concerned. However, because of time, we may not exhaust everything today. Consequently, we intend to have subsequent meetings every year. That way, we will have more time to interact, bond, rekindle our friendships, and develop more innovative ways of giving back to our beloved St. Joseph. We would like all of us to get time to express the experiences at St. Joseph in the subsequent meetings. As such, we would collaborate with teachers so that the next meeting begins a bit early.
Once again, I thank all of us who made time and honored this call to celebrate 30 years since leaving St. Joseph. The presence of teachers and students here gives us the confidence that St. Joseph is molding generations.